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August 12, 2005

American Airlines, JetBlue raise fares

by Sam Savage

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Airlines and JetBlue Airways
Corp. raised ticket prices in various markets late on Thursday,
seeking to recoup some of their increased costs from record
fuel prices, the airlines said.

No. 1 U.S. airline American, owned by AMR Corp., hiked
fares on a range of domestic routes, with increases mostly
ranging from $5 to $10 each way, spokesman Tim Smith said on
Friday.

Discount carrier JetBlue raised fares by $5 on flights to
and from Florida and on some transcontinental flights,
spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said.

The fare hikes follow similar moves by rivals including
Delta Air Lines Inc., UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and
Continental Airlines Inc..

The higher ticket prices did little to help the beleaguered
industry's shares, as oil prices raced to record highs above
$66 a barrel on Friday. Fuel has overtaken labor as the highest
cost for many of the airlines, and analysts say some carriers
could be driven into bankruptcy.

Delta shares were down 8 cents, or 4.5 percent, at $1.71,
Continental was down 31 cents, or 2.1 percent, at $14.30, and
AMR was down 18 cents, or 1.3 percent, at $13.22, all on the
New York Stock Exchange. On Nasdaq, JetBlue was off 4 cents to
$18.98.